Family and medical leave Act

The FMLA, or Family Medical Leave Act, is a federal law that requires employers to provide unpaid leave to employees for certain medical reasons or issues having to do with military deployment. In addition to the FMLA, Maryland's Flexible Leave Act also requires that employers provide employees leave.

Along with requiring that employers allow for leave, the law also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for taking leave allowed by law. Retaliation includes employer conduct such as termination, demotion, reduction in pay, or discrimination.

Employers with more than 50 employees who have worked for at least 20 weeks in the current or previous year must comply with the provisions of the FMLA. Additionally, in order to be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must have worked for the company for at least one year, have worked 1,250 hours in the previous year, and worked at a location with at least 50 employees in a 75-mile radius. The law requires that employers provide employees with 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12 month period for the following reasons: